The purpose of the Laboratory Animal Core facility is to provide selected services and animals (rats and mice) of high quality to eligible projects of the P30 Center at a reasonable price. The facility breeds and maintains a colony of Sprague-Dawley rats as required by investigators. The Core provides Center investigators with rats and mice of specific ages and sexes, and pregnant females of known gestational age. In addition, the facility provides various technical services and routine surgical procedures as needed by the investigators. The Laboratory Animal Core is a specific pathogen-free facility and strives to provide the healthiest animals possible. The personnel of the Laboratory Animal Core are available as well to teach members of the P30 Center animal handling and surgical procedures according to procedures approved by the University's Committee on Animal Use.